The Medical City at full capacity due to COVID-19 cases

The Medical City announced Monday that it had reached full capacity due to the number of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients under its care.

In a statement, President and Chief Executive Officer Dr. Eugenio Ramos reported that The Medical City had 18 positive cases of COVID-19 and 64 persons under investigation in its facility.

The hospital also had 11 patients in its Emergency Department waiting for rooms, with six patients on mechanical ventilators and five in critical condition.

Ramos said 137 of The Medical City’s healthcare workers were also quarantined after coming into contact with COVID-19 cases.

“Clearly, we already have exceeded our capacity. Our frontline healthcare workforce is already overstretched… Unless we are able to move the new patients to other hospitals, our healthcare delivery system is going to break down,” Ramos warned.

He added that other hospitals in Pasig City were likewise at full capacity.

“We do not wish at all to turn you away, but the reality is that we can no longer provide your loved ones the care that they need,” he lamented.

Thirty-two COVID-19 patients who were screened at The Medical City were either home-quarantined or admitted at a different facility.

The hospital had so far discharged eight COVID-19 patients.

The steady rise of COVID-19 cases in the country hobbled the operations of several hospitals, including the University of Santo Tomas Hospital where 530 staff were quarantined and the Lung Center of the Philippines where personal protective equipment (PPEs) was running out.

The Department of Health earlier explained that there was a shortage of PPEs worldwide due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the Philippines, 462 cases of COVID-19 had been recorded with 33 deaths and 18 recoveries. — DVM, GMA News